


Rest Assured

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Requited Love, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 10:05:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7753381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl is exhausted and succumbs to sleep at Steven's suggestion. Garnet carries her off somewhere more private. // Fluff, requited love, not much else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rest Assured

Pearl was bone weary and it showed.

 

She dragged herself inside on legs that shook, worn from fighting all day and—somehow—even more tired after having to explain away damage to the boardwalk to Beach City’s mayor. The human man had been frantic, and Steven had wanted to help, volunteering Pearl’s expertise on how to fix things, and suggestions had gone in circles until even _she_ was feeling panicked.

 

Pearl wanted nothing less than to sink down in the basins in her room and meditate the day—the whole week!—away, but knew she had maybe twelve hours before she would have to get up and take on another day. The sun hadn’t even set yet, and Pearl didn’t think she’d ever been so tired.

 

“Pearl, are you okay?” Steven asked at length, watching Pearl sway before she placed her hands on the counter. The little boy’s brows furrowed worriedly, and Pearl made an affirmative sound. “You look really tired. D’you… wanna sleep?”

 

“Gems don’t need to sleep.”

 

It was the same answer she always gave, but right now, Pearl didn’t have much conviction, and Steven knew it. “Come on, Pearl,” he said coaxingly, tugging at her arm with a familiar gentleness that made her heart ache. Pearl turned obediently without protest, almost stumbling as Steven led her to the stairs.

 

“Steven, I’m really fine,” she insisted automatically, but it was clear that he was having none of her excuses. Pearl wasn’t sure whether to be happy that he was like his mother, that way.

 

“Just sleep a _little_ ,” Steven insisted, steering her toward his bed. “I’ll wake you up when it gets dark! It helped last time…”

 

Arguments weren’t getting her anywhere, or at least, weren’t making it to her tongue. Finally, Pearl relented, sinking down on top of Steven’s comforter and turning on her side. The alabaster Gem pillowed her head with her arms, eyes already fluttering closed as Steven babbled about something to do with finding a blanket for her. That she didn’t need one was lost somewhere between Pearl’s mind and her exhaustion, and by the time Steven came back with spare bedding, Pearl was sound asleep.

 

\----

 

Darkness fell and Steven was hard-pressed to actually keep his word. Pearl slept so soundly that her Gem didn’t project cohesive images; just flashes and stills that Steven was careful not to watch, no matter how easily they drew his eye. It was weird, seeing Pearl dream.

 

It was weird seeing Rose moving around in his room.

 

 

She flickered like a ghost, and Pearl’s dream was menial, at least. Rose stood tall and looked around, and Steven wondered if her projection was anything like her Holo-Pearls, if there was some limited sentience there.

 

That made his skin crawl, and Steven started up the stairs, intending to wake Pearl, when Garnet warped in. Rose’s image vanished.

 

“Going to bed early, I see,” Garnet murmured, greeting Steven with a wave.

 

“Garnet!” Steven squeaked, “I uh… well, I was gonna wake Pearl, but—“ as he spoke, Rose’s image flickered on the stair above him, big and bright and blinding, and he let out a startled squeal, jumping back—and it was luck alone that he remembered he could float back down before gravity could catch up with him.

 

Regardless, Garnet was there with her arms out for him as he drifted downward. “I see,” she murmured, stroking his hair absently. The Fusion set him down gently. “I’ll do it.”

 

“Are you sure? Maybe we should let her sleep—“

 

“There’s a bed in the Temple,” Garnet explained, mounting the stairs and waiting for the apparition of Rose Quartz to flicker out of existence again. Pearl groaned in her sleep as Garnet slipped her arms underneath her, blanket and all, and scooped her up like a bride, cradling her smaller form against her chest. The alabaster Gem melted into her hold, tucking her pale face against Garnet’s shoulder as she turned to go back down to the living room.

 

“Mm… Rose…?” Pearl slurred, and Garnet froze, for just a moment, and was thankful beyond measure that her visor hid her eyes.

 

“Guess again,” the Fusion murmured, close to Pearl’s face, and to her surprise bleary blue eyes peered up at her, barely focused.

 

“Garn’…?”

 

“Go back to sleep, Pearl,” Garnet said firmly, and Pearl didn’t need to be told twice. She sighed contentedly, pressed her face into Garnet’s shoulder, and curled into her arms like she’d never been more comfortable.

 

“Would the couch be better?” Steven asked uncertainly, and Garnet swept past him easily, shaking her head.

 

“The Temple’s fine.”

 

“I—if you’re sure…”

 

Garnet turned, flashing a reassuring, closed-mouthed smile. “I’m very sure,” she promised him, “Good night, Steven.”

 

“Oh! Good night!”

 

And with that, Garnet swept Pearl away into the depths of the Temple.

 

Pearl didn’t stir, not until long after Garnet had found a quiet area of the Temple to settle her in. There were a few beds littered throughout Amethyst’s room, and Rose had similar installations in other areas, cushions piled high against crystal pillars and walls.

 

At some point Pearl had shifted, clinging to Garnet with a hand curled into the neck of her armor. The alabaster Gem was sound asleep, and Garnet tried to detangle her with minimal success. Pearl clung, and made a noise of distress into Garnet’s shoulder. The Fusion sighed.

 

It wasn’t the first time Pearl had clung to her in her sleep, and Garnet knew without having to look forward that it wouldn’t be the last. “Pearl,” she whispered, gently prying her fingers off of her breastplate. “Pearl, you need to let go.”

 

“Nn…” Pearl sighed, brows furrowing, and instead of listening, she latched onto Garnet’s hand.

 

It was always like this. Garnet smiled fondly, settling Pearl down into the cushions and kneeling at her side. Pearl’s long fingers curled around her hand, clutching with a startling amount of strength, and Garnet gently rubbed the back of her hand. Pearl exhaled with a contented sigh, finally relinquishing her hold. Garnet pressed her hand to her chest, and the smaller Gem’s lips were curled upward in her sleep. Garnet chuckled, brushing her fingers through Pearl’s hair.

 

“Garn’…” Pearl mumbled, nuzzling her face against the stone set in Garnet’s palm.

 

The Fusion smiled. “It’s me.”

 

“…Stay…?”

 

That was new.

 

Garnet froze, weighing her options. She wasn’t tired—she rarely was—but that didn’t mean she had anywhere more pressing to be. “If you like,” Garnet whispered, and the pleased noise Pearl made was nothing short of beautiful.

 

“You’re gonna be confused when you wake up,” Garnet cautioned her, but Pearl was gone again, sound asleep. The Fusion curled up with her, slipping an arm easily beneath Pearl’s head and drawing her close. Pearl pressed her face into Garnet’s chest, and Garnet cuddled her close.

 

When Pearl’s Gem lit up, they were at such close quarters that the projection couldn’t manifest, and Garnet was glad of that. The smaller Gem slept soundly, breathing evenly, and Garnet eventually dozed as well.

 

There were worse things.

 

\------

 

When Pearl did wake, it was abrupt, like a light switch thrown. She would have sat upright—if Garnet’s arms weren’t around her shoulders. Instead, she froze, wide-eyed, trying to process where she was and what was happening.

 

Pearl had no idea how she’d gotten here.

 

But waking up, confused and wrapped in Garnet’s arms, deep in the Temple where no one else could see wasn’t a terrible fate. Embarrassing though it was to have apparently slept through however long it took to get there from Steven’s room, Pearl couldn’t bring herself to be nervous or discomfited. She was safe, and warm, and Garnet’s even breathing ghosted over her Gem.

 

“Garnet?” Pearl whispered, the previous day’s exhaustion behind her after her impromptu rest.

 

“Mm?” Garnet responded sleepily, reaching up to adjust her visor with the hand that had been around Pearl’s slim waist.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

 

Garnet chuckled. “I don’t sleep as heavy as you do,” she teased, cracking a smile. Pearl’s cheeks warmed with a pleasant rush of embarrassment at that, and she glanced down to hide the flush in her cheeks, only for Garnet to tip her face upward a moment later. “You do that every time.”

 

“It’s embarrassing every time,” Pearl countered, swallowing hard. “I… every time, you tease me about it, too.”

 

“I do.” Garnet paused, phasing away her visor to meet Pearl’s startled gaze. “Is this more fair?”

 

“A bit.”

 

“Good,” Garnet said softly, “Because I know you like when I don’t wear it.”

 

Stars above, Garnet was gifted in making her turn blue! Pearl couldn’t duck her head this time, so instead, she closed her eyes, trying to will away her blush without luck.

 

“It’s funny,” Garnet murmured, “You weren’t shy like this when we met.”

 

“I wasn’t a lot of things,” Pearl whispered in kind, and Garnet, daringly, pressed a kiss to her temple. Pearl squeaked, flushing all over again. “Garnet, I…”

 

“I know,” Garnet cut her off, “I know it’s too soon.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Garnet nodded, eyes trained on the wall. “Eventually,” she said, pulling her best friend into a hug. “Soon enough.”

 

Pearl bit her lip. “How can you be sure?”

 

The Fusion chuckled, smoothing her hair. “You said my name in your sleep last night,” she said quietly, “I’ll take that as a good sign, moving forward.”

 

“I—I what?” Pearl squeaked, covering her mouth in surprise. “What… what else did I—“

 

“You asked me to stay,” Garnet said softly, and then, in a lower voice, added; “You asked for Rose first.”

 

Pearl froze; then glanced away. “I’m sorry.”

 

“I’m not upset,” Garnet assured her, brushing her long fingers through the fringe of Pearl’s bangs. “You were dreaming about her. It spooked Steven.”

 

“Oh!” Pearl gasped, meeting Garnet’s gaze sharply, eyes wide. Color drained from her face completely. “Ohh… oh no, I’ll have to apologize immediately—“

 

Garnet shook her head. “He isn’t upset, either. But that’s why I brought you down here.”

 

The smaller Gem nodded slowly in understanding. She sighed at length, pressing her Gem against Garnet’s shoulder. “Thank you, Garnet,” she murmured, “You always know how to take such good care of me.”

 

“I like to think I should, by now,” Garnet teased lightly, running her hands soothingly up Pearl’s taught shoulders. “We’ve only been together my entire life.”

 

Pearl hummed in agreement, relaxing fairly quickly as Garnet rubbed her back, and she cuddled closer to her best friend. “You’ll put me to sleep again,” she mumbled in a sigh, and at this, Garnet laughed.

 

“How ever will I survive?” she teased, “You’ll crush me, Pearl. Under all that mass.”

 

“Rude!” Pearl laughed, and it turned into a groan as Garnet’s fingers worked at a particularly treacherous knot between her shoulders. The smaller Gem wiggled against her, abandoning caution and slipping her arms around Garnet’s waist, curling a leg around her thigh. The closer, the better. “Honestly, you spend too much time with Amethyst.”

 

“And you spend too much time by yourself,” Garnet quipped, pulling at the bow for Pearl’s sash, loosing the entire thing to get at her lower back. “May I?”

 

“Ah—only if you want,” Pearl murmured, cheeks flushed. “You know I trust you. With anything.”

 

“I know.”

 

There was never any real question about that. Even in light of what had happened with Sardonyx months prior, Garnet had never questioned whether Pearl trusted her. Her self-doubt had motivated much of that debacle, and Garnet was all too happy to have it behind them.

 

Pearl didn’t protest to Garnet lifting her tunic to access her back, and she reveled in the closeness Garnet was willing to share with her. Garnet’s hands made short work of the knots in her back and shoulders, and soon enough, the smaller Gem was as relaxed as she could possibly be. Pearl mewled under her ministrations, merrily curled against her best friend.

 

Nothing was better than this.


End file.
